PAPEÉTE, Tahiti (Tahitipresse, Jan. 4) - Well-known Tahiti photographer Teva Sylvain has announced the creation of a new political party with the ambition of creating a federation of center parties already seeking a "third way."

"We decided to become involved because personally, for example, I don’t consider myself to be involved in the existing parties," said Sylvain, who was one of the founding members of the pro-autonomy political party led by Philip Schyle.

In effect, Sylvain is trying to bring together the several center parties that do not want to belong to French Polynesia President Gaston Flosse’s pro-autonomy party on the right or the coalition of parties on the left led by pro-independence party leader Oscar Temaru.

The political posturing is aimed at the February 13 French Polynesia Assembly elections to be held for 37 Windward Island seats representing the islands of Tahiti and Moorea. The 20 remaining seats representing the rest of French Polynesia...

The agreement, to be funded by an existing 1 billion vatu (US$9.4 million) grant from the Chinese government, follows a request originally made by former Prime Ministers Edward Natapei and Serge Vohor.

"What we have witnessed now is a formalization of that process which is very important because this is what the Chinese Government have been waiting for from Vanuatu," First PA to the Prime Minister's Office, George Bogiri explained.

With the document now signed, Bogiri said the two ships, approximately 34 meters long, would take about ten months to build.

Asked how they will be used, the Bogiri said they are Government ships such as the Alize II and will be...

The resolution supports a 2002 agreement between the Kayangel State and Palau Pacific Energy Inc. (PPE) that gave the oil company exclusive rights to conduct exploration, drilling and production operations in the ocean areas for petroleum during the terms of the exploration license.

The agreement said that the license would cover the period of 10 years commencing the effective date of the agreement.

The agreement also says that no later than May 15, 2006, PPE shall commence the drilling of an exploratory well within the Palau North Block.

PPE, according to the agreement will spend up to $10 million in the drilling of the said well.

The agreement said that failure to start operations would cause the agreement to terminate on...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Jan. 4) - Papua New Guinea’s oil production is on the decline and new production wells have to be found to avoid unplanned shutdowns.

Oil Search Limited managing director Peter Botten told the Sydney Mining and Petroleum Conference last month that current projections suggested "unless there was change, the Gobe Main Field would need to be shut-in within the next few years. Field closure forces further acceleration of unit operating costs," Botten said. "We need to break the cycle but it needs to be done quickly before we lose the opportunity."

He said since Oil Search took over operations of PNG oil and gas assets from ChevronTexaco in 2003, they have sought new sources of crude oil.

The company’s exploration program has been going on actively as they firm up new drilling targets.These targets, all located in the Southern Highlands, include the Northwest Moran which was discovered in 2003 and is due online in...

SAIPAN, CNMI (Saipan Tribune, Jan. 6) – The battered Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands economy claimed another victim yesterday as the Saipan Laulau Development Inc. bared plans to sell the company to United Micronesian Development Inc. at a loss of about $50 million.

Saipan Laulau Vice President Hiroyuki Saito said the company has invested a total of $61 million to the Laolao Bay Golf Resort in Kagman. However, Saipan Laulau is now negotiating to sell the company to UMDA for an amount between $8.5 million and $10 million.

Saito explained that the company has been operating the golf resort at a substantial loss in since the Asian economic crisis hit the tourism industry in 1997.

He said that the company's annual gross revenue now reaches only about half the $11 million SLDI used to earn before 1997.

"It's been difficult for us to continue investing in this business because the shareholders would not allow this. At the...

PORT VILA, Vanuatu (Vanuatu Daily Post, Jan. 6) – Nawalala Chiefs in Big Bay village have requested major roadwork to be carried out to their village to help ease their transportation difficulties to town.

The request was made during the official visit of Vanuatu Youth and Sports Minister Arnold Prasad to Big Bay last week.

The Chiefs made the requests because a great majority of their people depend on income generated from market produce such as root crops.

Minister Prasad did not make any promises

"I will try my best to arrange with the Minister responsible," he said.

The two villages that Prasad visited were Malao and Nawalala. It took the delegation three hours to drive there.

A lot of questions were asked about politics in the national government. But the Minister opted not to talk more on the infighting between politicians and urged the villagers to leave politics to them.

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.